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Easy as Riding a Bike: Using Political Muscle

By David Callahan

Fundamental change can be only a phone call away. Whether they serve in the Illinois General Assembly, the local village board or the Chicago City Council, lawmakers agree they are influenced by citizens who initiate direct contact with them.

“Everyone has a connection to the Illinois General Assembly through their state representative and their state senator,” said lobbyist John McCabe, who is working toward passage of the Bicycle Safety Restoration Act (HB4907) with the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation and the League of Illinois Bicyclists. “I can’t overestimate how many times I hear legislators say that they got an idea from their constituents.”

You can look up your state representative’s and state senator’s district offices by calling The Illinois Board of Elections at (312) 814-6440 or going to www.elections.il.gov.

“The people in these district offices are primed to listen to constituent’s problems. And that’s how legislators get ideas from people,” McCabe said.

Metra’s new bike access policy is the fruit of hundreds of phone calls, emails and letters from ordinary citizens.

“Handwritten notes are best,” McCabe said. “And type-written notes are fine too.”

“I have had legislators tell me, ‘If I receive a form letter, I’ll respond with a form letter. If I receive a handwritten-letter, I’ll respond in kind.’”

But if time is of the essence, letters can be faxed or phone calls placed, McCabe said. “Any contact is better than no contact.”

The time is right to begin expressing support for bicycling legislation like HB4907, the Complete Streets Bill (SB508) and the Park Zones Bill (HB4704) (see related story on page 3). McCabe said bicyclists should stress when writing that these pieces of legislation make streets and roads safer for all. “People should talk about safety,” he said.

Speaking of HB4907 in particular, McCabe said, “We have to make sure we maintain contact with individual legislators to let them understand this is not just an issue of concern to trial lawyers and municipalities,” nor can legislators be allowed to harbor the notion that the legislation benefits an elite few with expensive bikes.

“We have a very short-time frame,” he said, adding that letters from constituents will be “crucial” in getting these bills passed.
“If we’re able to get a bill out of committee and out on the floor, every vote counts,” McCabe said. “Especially for our issues it always hangs on one or two votes.”

David Callahan is managing editor of Bike Traffic